Arch supporting sole unit



Jan. 1, 1935. DELBQN 1,985,919

ARCH SUPPORTING SOLE UNIT Filed Dec/1, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR F IAN/f G. DELBON3 HIS ATTGRNEY5 Jan. 1, 1935. F G, DELB N 1,985,919

' ARCH SUPPORTINQ SOLE UNIT Filed Dec. 1, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FRANK a. 0:150

H15 ATTORNEYS,

Patented Jan. 1, 1935 l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 2 Claims.

This invention relates to shoes, and particularly to improvements therein for enabling the foot to better bear the weight of the body than heretofore. an article of manufacture for being built into shoes so as to support the foot in an improved manner.

Most articles of this nature go no farther than i to shore up or buttress the muscles in and near the ball or the heel of the foot after they have taken all the weight of the body, or after the muscles have fallen, the major part of .the weight being thrown directly onto the ball of the foot. Also in all shoes known to me, that portion of the shoe that lies. in the instep region or the middle third of the foot, in which is applied at least threequarters of the weight of the body, and which is the broadest part of the natural shape of the human foot, is intentionally constructed as the very narrowest part of the shoe, with the result that the abductor and other muscles in the plantar arch and in the metatarsal arch, are so cramped and unsupported that foot trouble has become the rule instead of the exception.

l. have discovered that inasmuch as the greatest part of the weight of the body comes on the tarsal region and not on the metatarsal region or the heel region, that instead of being the least e the widest part of the shoe; that is, the total area,

though not necessarily the greatest horizontal width (as will hereinafter becomeapparent) of this portion of the shoe should be greater than that in the sole or other part of the shoe, and that .the muscles in this region, instead of being cramped by narrow insteps and left unsupported by locating all support directly underneath: only the main muscles, should be allowed longitudinal and transverse space and should have a strong, yet resilient support in all directions, and not merely directly beneath them.

It is the chief object of this invention to'provide an article for being built into shoes which will provide greatest, yet differentiated, strength and greatest room in those parts of the foot where the greatest weight and strain come, instead of throwing this strain onto parts of the foot not anatomically built to stand these strains.

A particular object of the invention is to provide an article which will prevent falling of the plantar arch, of the metatarsal arch, and of the abductor muscle, and notwithstanding such complete support,.will have differential weight resisting power-in certain places to prevent cramping More particularly, the invention relates to sive and rugged, yet without rendering its assembly with the rest of the shoe parts difiicult and expensive. r I

Several of the presently. preferred embodiments are shown, merely by way of illustration, in the accompanying drawings, but the invention is limited in its embodiments only by the scope of the subjoined claims. In these drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective of one embodiment of the article;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 thereof; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view thereof; Fig. 4 is a section on line44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective showing the assemblage of said article;

Fig. 6 is a perspective of a modification; Fig. 7 is a section on line 'Z7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective of one of the Fig..14 is a plan view of one of the elements of The first embodiment shown above comprises.

a single I integral piece of leather 1, specially shaped as shown, that. is, with the forward portion 2 shaped like the forward portion of an insole, the middle portion protruding on one side -3 under the abductor muscle on the inner side of the foot, and the opposite side, instead of being straight, also being slightly protuberant as shown at 4 for fitting under the fifth metatarsal bone.

The rear end of the. leather is made more the shape of the os calcis and more dished than is usual, and is made broader and more oval than usual. The leather is split along the horizontal plane 5 for more than half its length into two equal halves, as shown in Fig. 5, and pressed and molded to form a matrix for a more or less rigid member 6 made preferably of duralumin, but advantageously of springy steel or,-if.desired, of aluminum or aluminum alloy.

'The member 6 has a peripheral configuration conforming and following generally the outline,

of the bottom of the leather, as shown in Fig. 5, and has a peripherally curved portion 7 that is also curved in the longitudinal and transverse planes, asshown more clearly in Fig. 8, which fits under and supports the abductormuscle of the foot, preventing pronation. The opposite side is also slightly protuberant, as shown at 8, and prevents supination. The forward end of the metal member 6 has a slightly upwardly turned portion-9 for forming a table slightly back of the metatarsal arch onto which a metatarsal pad es as described therein. The forward end is also provided with a rivet hole 10 which divides the table into two tongues 11 and 12. The tongues 11 and 12, coacting with the formations 6 and 7 prevent pronation and supination, and yet provide a yielding flexible-resilient support under the metatarsal arch, instead of, hurting or cramping the foot there. An aperture 13 may be left in the heel for riveting thereto. Several apertures 30 are punched out near the ends of' the rigid member 6 in such a manner that they form a small circular shaped opening on the top side of said memher and form rough depressions or projections on the underside. The depressions or projections on the underside of the member 6 form an opening having, a. rectangular outline so'that when these projections grip the adjacent leather sheets all rotation of the several elements between themselves is prevented. Such a construction also tends to limit the possibility of the metal sheet rom pulling away from the several leather sheets.

I In Figs. 6 and .7, instead of slipping the metal member between halves of the leather, the article consists of a single, piece. of leather 14, extending the full length of the foot, and a thinner piece of leather 15 attached by sewing 16 where shown, and the metal member 6 is slipped in between the two and the-article-is adapted to be sewn to the shoe-upper, and the metal member thereby fixed in place,;by a line of stitching 17.

In the embodiment shown in Fig. 9, instead of either placing the metal member between halves of the leatheror on the top ofthe leather, as in preceding figures, it is placed on the bottom of the leather insole 18, and the member 19, made of leather and shaped-asshown, is placed below it, and the member 19 and the member 18 are adapted to be sewn together and to the upper along the line of stitching 8. By these means the respective ends of the metal member are anchored and abutted at 20 and 21 "(see rivets, Fig. 10) to the rigid part of the shoe and held between the two leather pieces.- To provide support for the metatarsal arch, the forward end of the bottom leather strip is thickened and rounded and shaped as shown in Fig. 9, to form a leather metatarsal pad 20'. J

In Fig. 12, the same essential construction is employed, but the leather is cut on the line 24, and a rubber metatarsal pad 25 similar to the one'shown and described in my U. S. Patent No. 1,771,673, is attached'over the end of the metal member, as, and for the purposes described in that patent. In this embodiment, the metal member takes the form shown as 26. (Fig. 4) in which the side on the line of the fifth metatarsal bone on the outside of the foot is cut away to provide a resilient support as described in my said patent, and there is a yoke 27 for fitting around the rivet or stud in the heel. Lightening and resiliency-giving formations 28 are provided usual leather insole, and to which the upper is attached; and a metal arch member or bridge described in my Patent No. 1,771,673, may be fitted member having a rigid abutment and anchorage directly under the 0s calcis andanother such rigid abutment and anchorage just to the rear of themetatarsal arch. The weight of the foot is then received by the shoe first at the top of the arch and is distributed evenly between the ball and the heel, instead of all coming on the ball, as is usual, while simultaneously being spread laterally in the instep, instead of being cramped and bound as in the ordinary instep. The upwardly arched formation on the inner side of the article prevents pronation and supports the abductor muscle, and the bulge on the outer side prevents the opposite faulting of the foot. The rear portion of the article is dished or cupped in to receive and support the 0s calcis region and the article may be provided with either a leather or rubber metatarsal pad.

I claim:

1. In an arch-supporting sole unit, comprising a laminated structure of several layers including a flexible and soft member for fitting under the sole of the foot, a sheet member of metallic material for reinforcing said first-mentioned member, said reinforcing member being located under the middle third only of the foot, another fiexible and soft member similar in size and shape to the being somewhat narrower at their ends and subs'tantially wider at their middle sections, said middle sections being extended outwardly and substantially wider than the corresponding sections for the shoe, said middle sections being also curved upwardly to thereby prevent pronation and supination of the foot of the wearer, headed frictional piercing instrumentalities having a rectangular cross section, countersunk depressions in the metallic member having apertures of rectangular outline therethrough for permitting the piercing instrumentalities to pass, and an open end slot in the forward end of the metallic member for registering with an anchoring means which combines the several layers into a composite unit. I

2. In an arch-supporting sole unit, comprising a laminated structure of several layers including a split insole of flexible and soft material for fitting under the sole of the foot, a member of metallic material for reinforcing the split insole, said reinforcing member being located under the middle third only of the foot, all of said members being somewhat narrow at their ends and substantially wider at their middle sections, said middle sections being extended outwardly and substantially wider than the corresponding section for the shoe, said middle sections being also curved upwardly to thereby prevent pronation and supination of the foot of the wearer, headed frictional piercing instrumentalities having a rectangular cross section, countersunk depressions in the metallic member having apertures of rectangular outline therethrough for permitting the piercing instrumentalities to pass, and an open slot in the forward end of the metallic member foiaregistering with an anchoring meanswhich combines the several layers into a composite unit.

FRANK G. DELBON. 

